Hsbc Holdings PLC Buys Shares of 588,941 Bath & Body Works, Inc. $BBWI

Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 588,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,651,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Bath & Body Works in the second quarter worth about $449,065,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Bath & Body Works by 132.5% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,445,928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $229,834,000 after buying an additional 6,523,960 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,737,796 shares of the company’s stock worth $171,904,000 after buying an additional 315,738 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,960,475 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,542,000 after buying an additional 110,602 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 86.9% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,399,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,568,000 after acquiring an additional 1,580,176 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.14% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Bath & Body Works

Here are the key news stories impacting Bath & Body Works this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BBWI reported second-quarter adjusted EPS of $0.62, well above the $0.24 consensus estimate, while revenue of $1.51 billion modestly exceeded expectations. The earnings beat was supported by demand for body-care and home-fragrance products and improved digital sales. BBWI Stock Jumps 7.5% on Q2 Earnings Beat, Fiscal 2026 Outlook Raised
• Positive Sentiment: Management raised fiscal 2026 adjusted EPS guidance to $2.60-$2.80 from $2.40-$2.65 and projected revenue of $7.5-$7.6 billion. The company also cited progress in its transformation plan, with a goal of approximately $250 million in cost savings and stronger cash generation. Bath & Body Works lifts annual profit forecast
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts remain divided after the results. Morgan Stanley reduced its price target to $20 from $22 while keeping an Equal Weight rating; UBS cut its target to $17 from $19 and maintained a Neutral rating. These targets suggest limited upside or downside from recent trading levels. Analyst price-target changes
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term performance remains pressured by weak store traffic and declining overall sales. Second-quarter revenue fell 2.3% year over year, and third-quarter adjusted EPS guidance of $0.07-$0.12 is substantially below the roughly $0.27 analyst consensus, raising concerns about promotional activity and continued softness in physical stores. Bath & Body Works results top expectations

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on BBWI shares. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Bath & Body Works from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $23.00 to $19.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Barclays decreased their price target on Bath & Body Works from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Bath & Body Works from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $19.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.29.

Bath & Body Works Price Performance

NYSE BBWI opened at $18.68 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.97. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 12 month low of $14.27 and a 12 month high of $32.32. The company has a market capitalization of $3.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.86, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.38.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 26th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.50 billion. Bath & Body Works had a net margin of 10.83% and a negative return on equity of 53.48%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.30 earnings per share. Bath & Body Works has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.070-0.120 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 2.600-2.800 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.83%.

Bath & Body Works Profile

Bath & Body Works, Inc is a leading specialty retailer focused on personal care, home fragrance and complementary products. Through its flagship Bath & Body Works brand, the company offers a diverse assortment of shower gels, lotions, fragrance mists, candles and home fragrance items. Its product portfolio also includes the White Barn Candle Co range of premium scented candles and diffusers. Bath & Body Works serves consumers through a combination of brick-and-mortar stores and e-commerce platforms, delivering seasonal collections, limited-edition releases and signature scent lines.

Founded in 1990 as part of Limited Brands (now L Brands), Bath & Body Works opened its first store in New Albany, Ohio, and quickly expanded across the United States.